Swissport is further expanding its airport lounge business in Canada. Today, the Swiss market leader for airport ground services and air cargo handling opened its 49th airport lounge under its Aspire brand at Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport.

Swissport opened its fifth airport lounge in Canada at the international airport of Ottawa. The new lounge is located airside between the domestic and international areas. It has a total surface of 3,700 square feet (340 square meters) and has a capacity for up to 100 guests. The lounge is open to all passengers regardless of the airline and class of travel. Guests who want to start their journey in a relaxing atmosphere, can enjoy unrivalled panoramic airport views, comfortable seating and a unique food and drink selection throughout the day. The food offer, adjusted seasonally, includes vegetarian and vegan choices as well as foods and beverages by local suppliers. Other lounge amenities include a business center meeting room, baggage lockers and free Wi-Fi.

“We are excited to open our Ottawa lounge as part of our growing Canadian and global network. It will make travelling for our guests as relaxing as possible”, says Shaun Weston, Vice President Global Lounges at Swissport International. “The lounge at the airport of Canada’s capital, Ottawa, will be cutting edge, bringing together our new interior design and learnings and experience from years of successfully operating lounges across the globe.”

The opening comes after Swissport was chosen as the preferred lounge operator by the Ottawa International Airport Authority. Aspire completed the construction and interior design works in record time. The Authority’s CEO and President, Mark Laroche, says: “Swissport’s commitment to excellence in ground handling at Ottawa airport, their proven lounge expertise, and their compelling proposal have instilled a high level of confidence in the future Aspire Lounge and its ability to delight our clients”.

As part of its airport ground services portfolio Swissport manages 49 lounges at more than 30 airports in 13 countries under its hospitality brand Aspire Airport Lounges. Among them are Calgary, Copenhagen, Dubai, Dublin, Edinburgh, Helsinki, London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Montreal, Manchester, Nairobi and Zurich. Last year, Swissport welcomed over five million airline passengers across its global lounge network. Over the coming five years, Swissport plans to significantly grow its Aspire lounge hospitality business.

In 2018, Swissport International AG provided best-in-class airport ground services for some 282 million airline passengers and handled roughly 4.8 million tons of air freight in 115 cargo warehouses worldwide. Several of its warehouses have been certified for pharmaceutical logistics by IATA’s CEIV. The world's leader in airport ground services and air cargo handling, with 66,000 employees, achieved consolidated operating revenue of 2.99 billion euros in 2018. At the end of September 2019, Swissport was active at 307 airports in 48 countries on six continents.